I'm Bex, a SumOfUs member from Wales. Once again,
our national parks are under attack by big business: the North York Moors National Park has just approved a plan to build one of the world's biggest potash mines inside the park's boundaries.

It will be the biggest industrial development in a national park in decades, devastating the area's stunning landscape and amazing wildlife. I'm Bex, a SumOfUs member from Wales. Like millions of others in the UK,
I cherish our national parks. Yorkshire's protected landscapes are especially close to my heart -- when I lived in North Yorkshire, walking through the space, solitude, and wilderness of the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Dales helped me to get back on my feet when my life was changed by family illness.

And that's the thing about our national parks. They offer
invaluable breathing spaces to millions of us -- and to countless species of animals, from roe deer to wood mice -- in an increasingly industrialised world. But now the very principles on which they were founded are under attack by Sirius Minerals' plans to build a massive potash mine under protected moorland in the North York Moors National Park.

North York Moors National Park Authority: protect the integrity of our national parks. Don't let Sirius build a potash mine.

The North York Moors National Park Authority narrowly voted in favour of the development last month, apparently persuaded by Sirius Minerals' argument that the mine will provide 1,000 local jobs. National Parks are living, working places -- and North Yorkshire needs more jobs.

But Sirius' own documents reveal that
few of these jobs will go to local people -- and the local tourism economy will be devastated. A mine built outside the boundaries of the national park would provide jobs and protect the park, but it would be more expensive for Sirius to develop.

I believe that the purposes of national parks -- to conserve and enhance natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage, and to promote opportunities for their public enjoyment -- are worth protecting.
They are laid down in law, but now it seems we need to fight for them.

In September, the park's authority will issue its formal decision notice -- giving us just a few weeks to get it to change its mind. Over 120,000 of us urged the government to save national parks from fracking, and
public opposition has got the fracking industry in retreat. Now we need to come together again to protect our national parks from big business.

Tell the North York Moors National Park Authority to protect the integrity of our national parks by refusing to let Sirius build a potash mine.

The SumOfUs community has stood against the corporate hunger for our precious public resources. Thanks to our pressure, in Canada, we demanded that Nestle be charged a fair price for extracting water and we won! The government of British Columbia agreed to review water rates.

Will you join me in stopping the development so that the North York Moors remains a protected sanctuary for future generations, as it has been for millions of us?

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More information:

North York Moors: 'Test case' national park mining project gets go-ahead, The Independent, 30 June 2015

North York Moors potash mine threat, Campaign for National Parks, 15 July 2015

No public inquiry into North York Moors potash mine, BBC, 15 July 2015